Book Review: 'The Genesis Machine' by James P. Hogan
3 / 5 Stars
'The Genesis Machine' (299 pp.) first was published by Del Rey / Ballantine in February, 1978. The cover art is by Darrell K. Sweet.
When Judy Lynn Del Rey founded her own imprint in 1977, she immediately began issuing novels and short story collections that promoted traditional sci-fi, signalling a turning away from the New Wave movement. One of the authors she enjoyed showcasing was the UK engineer James P. Hogan (1941 - 2010), whose first novel, 'Inherit the Stars,' was a major success and a declaration that 'hard' sci-fi was very much back in style.
Hogan went on to produce a sizeable number of novels and story collections, as well as nonfiction books. His fiction had a didactic quality, and his protagonists often were scientists whose innate humanism and idealism bluntly was contrasted with the mendacity of the political establishments for which they were obliged to work.
'Genesis' is set in 2005, at which time the Cold War has evolved into a dangerous confrontation between the Third and First Worlds. The US government is funding research and development with defense / military applications, and with little monies left over for more pacifistic enterprises, top talent is left with no choice but to enlist in government projects. So it is that Brad Clifford, a brilliant mathematician, is employed at the 'Advanced Communications Research Establishment' in New Mexico.
Brad is disinterested in doing what the government wants him to do, instead spending the bulk of his time working on a Grand Unified Theory that reconciles classical physics with quantum theory. As the novel opens Clifford has come up with the concept of hyperspace - referred to as k-space - that indeed seems to provide a Unified Theory.
Unfortunately for Brad, his supervisors aren't all that impressed with supporting theoretical research, however profound its implications for gravity, space, and time may be, and he is disciplined for failing to stick to applied research. Disillusioned, Clifford releases his draft paper on k-space to the wider community via the internet (a neat bit of prescience here from Hogan), quits his job, and wonders what else to do with his life.
It turns out that Brad's paper has gotten the attention of some very bright people, including the ebullient Aubrey 'Aub' Philipsz from Berkley. Excited by testing the real-world implications of the k-space theory, Aub introduces Clifford into a consortium of researchers whose work has yet to be co-opted by the military-industrial complex.
There's just one problem: the government has learned about the k-space R & D, and they intend to coerce Brad and Aub into developing military applications. With global tensions approaching a breaking point, it seems inevitable that the genesis machine and its promise of a brighter, more peaceful future may be subverted for the purpose of mass destruction.......
'The Genesis Machine' is a competent, but not overly memorable, hard sci-fi novel. The first two-thirds of the novel are the best, as Hogan describes the intellectual adventure of a tech start-up, wherein a group of geniuses decide to abandon the government / corporate track and instead try to fulfill their dreams by doing things their way.
However, the final third of the novel veers into political territory, and here it's all about virtuous scientists struggling against the military-industrial complex, with the narrative adopting a sententious tone. It doesn't help matters that the denouement relies on all sorts of contrivances in order generate a happy ending.
'The Genesis Machine' stands as an example of hard sci-fi at a time when the genre badly needed rejuvenation, and in that regard it retains value. But I would argue that Hogan's other novels from the period (such as the so-called 'Minervan' novels) are superior when it comes to engaging, as opposed to lecturing, the reader.
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